The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Physocarpus opulifolius and will be referred to hereafter by its cultivar name, ‘UMNHarpell’. ‘UMNHarpell’ represents a new cultivar of Physocarpus, a deciduous shrub grown for landscape use.
The new Physocarpus arose from a breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Donald, Oreg. The objective of the breeding program was to develop new Physocarpus cultivars with unique foliage color combined with compact plant habits.
The new Physocarpus originated from open pollination in spring of 2002 of Physocarpus ‘Center Glow’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 16,894) and proprietary seedlings that were previously derived from crosses between Physocarpus cultivars ‘Monlo’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 11,211) and ‘Dart's Gold’ (not patented). The seeds were pooled and the new cultivar ‘UMNHarpell’ was selected as a unique single plant from the resulting seedlings in spring of 2003.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar was first accomplished by softwood cuttings in summer of 2004 in Donald, Oreg. under the direction of the Inventor. The characteristics of this cultivar have been determined to be stable and are reproduced true to type in successive generations.